At a time like this, the majority of us are at home a lot more, whether we're working from home, furloughed or have found ourselves (hopefully temporarily) unemployed - those of us who are key workers are busier than ever and rushed of out feet - but all of us need a little self-care.
I have already got a page introducing self-care, so i'm just going to go straight in and talk about some of my recommendations for self-care during a time of a social distancing.
Solo Self-care
♥Bath time - whether you choose to add bubbles, a colourful bathbomb or epsom salts & crystals, give yourself time to relax your body and mind.
♥Read- whether you want to invest a little reading time into yourself with self-help or academic books, or get lost in a ficitional world, reading is a peaceful way to pass some time.
♥Declutter - it might not seem like self-care when you're doing it, but doing it now saves you time and stress for the future (+ you might find things you've been missing or give yourself the chance to treat yourself to something new).
♥Sunshine - Good for the soul and in tiny amounts good for the skin. UVB rays emmitted by the sun are our main source of vitamin D, which may help reduce the serverity of respiratiory diseases. HOWEVER, UVB in larger (but still only small) doses causes damage to skin cells causing sun burn which drastically increases your risk of skin cancers. Over-exposure to sunlight also increases premature ageing such as wrinkling and blotches!
So WEAR SUN CREAM that protects UVA & UVB rays (high spf & star rating)!
- I will do a future blog post soley for this topic as my Master's Degree dissertation explored this in depth.
♥Stay hydrated- the body uses a minimum of 1.5 litres of water a day, so you need to drink that to replace all water used even if you spend the day doing nothing. 2+ litres of water a day are recomended and it can be difficult to drink that much if you're not used to it. Why not set an alarm on your phone to have a glass of water every hour or grab a water bottle that measures your intake.
Dehydration can have a long term negative effect on your overall physical health, but it also speeds up ageing as your skin loses its elasticity
♥Skin-care- Fancy a face mask? An at home spa day with face masks etc. can be super relaxing alone, or have a little fun & invite the rest of your household to join in.
♥Baking- feels good, tastes good! You could spend some time perfecting your baking skills, whether you do this with your household or alone is up to you (& may impact baking-related stress levels) you can also decide whether to keep your delcious treats to yourself or whether you want to gift them to neighbours who perhaps don't have the abiloity or time do do so themselves e.g key workers or elderly.
♥Watch what you want- another which can be done alone or socially. With Netflix party, you can watch films with your friends in other locations, so even if you live alone you can still watch with others.
Social self-care
♥Stay in touch - make sure that both you and any of your friends or family, aren't feeling alone, call regularly, for a chat, to ask for or offer help etc.
♥ Video chat with friends & family & set it up though it was a normal thing - usually get brunch/ coffee with your besties every sunday at 11? Do the same on your video call.
♥Send something, whether its a pretty card, or a little gift, let people know you're thinking of them - this allows you to feel good while caring for others.
♥Cuddles - whether its people you live with, pets or even a giant teddy or pillow- hugs that last over 20 seconds are thought to release brain chemicals that contribute to happiness - living a lone away from your other half- stuff a hoody/shirt with cushions -spray it with a scent they often wear & set it up in the bed or sofa for you to cuddle into or lie on their chest.
♥Play together - whether you can have a board(/console) game night within your household, or maybe you could play a quiz during a call - why not send some riddles to decode - there are lots of possibilities.
Let me know what your favourite social distancing self-care activities are - are they on the list? if not add them in the comments below or send me a message and I'll add it as a footnote!
You can also get in touch & let me know what topic you want to see next! ♥